(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for producing liquid preparations having a solid body content, in which the addition of at least a portion of the solid bodies takes place just before or during the pouring of a liquid preparation.
(2) Description of Related Art, Including Information Disclosed Under 37 C.F.R. §§1.97 and 1.98.
Many of the products that are used in everyday life are liquid preparations. In the field of detergents and cleaning compositions these are, for example, liquid detergents or fabric softeners; in the field of food preparations, for example, ready-made salad dressings or liquid tomato products such as ketchup; in the field of pharmaceutical preparations, for example, lotions or tinctures; in the cosmetics sector, for example, hair shampoos or shaving lotions; and in a further technical field, for example, liquid adhesives and varnishes or paints. This list could be continued indefinitely.
These liquid preparations frequently require a specific solid body content. The reasons for this are many and varied and depend on the intended use of the product. The reason may even be simply to emphasize the main visual features of a product, in order thereby to enhance its purely visual attractiveness to the consumer and in so doing facilitate his purchasing decision.
Thus, small colored particles may be incorporated, for example, in liquid detergents, the particles being suspended in the liquid detergent and not sinking, so that no sediment forms, and the particles do not float or cream. These particles may also contain specific active ingredients to make the product more effective. In such a case the particles would transmit a message to the consumer, such as “new and improved formulation.” The consumer would directly be able to recognize the particles as the cause and identify the added value associated with them. In addition, sensitive substances, for example, can be worked into the liquid matrix via the particles. These sensitive substances are then protected so that incompatibilities between ingredients can be avoided.
The same considerations also apply to other technical fields—for example, it is possible to work into hair shampoos microcapsules which remain in the hair when the hair is washed and release their content, for example conditioning oils, to the hair only as a result of the rise in temperature occurring during the drying of the hair. User-friendly hair care can be achieved in this way. Likewise, flavorings in microencapsulated form, which are released only during cooking or in the course of mastication, can be introduced, for example, into liquid food preparations. Liquid preparations having a solid body content therefore permit “more intelligent” products with enhanced visual attractiveness and create possibilities for new formulations.